Aerial Experiment Association (AEA)
The Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) was established in 1907 in Canada by Alexander Graham Bell, an inventor best known for the telephone, with the goal of developing a functional manned flying vehicle. Known informally as "Bell's Boys," the founding members included young engineers and aviation enthusiasts, such as John McCurdy and Glenn H. Curtiss. The AEA's projects included several innovative aircraft designs, notably the Silver Dart, which achieved the first successful manned flight in Canada on February 23, 1909.
The group initially focused on a tetrahedral kite called Cygnet, which underwent various test flights, including an unpowered glider flight with a crew member aboard. Following this, they moved operations to Hammondsport, New York, where they continued to experiment with designs like the Red Wing and White Wing, achieving progressively longer flights. Despite some successes, the AEA faced challenges, including the death of member Thomas Selfridge in a separate aviation accident and legal disputes with the Wright brothers over patents. Ultimately, the AEA disbanded in March 1909, with Curtiss retaining rights to their innovations. This organization played a significant role in the early history of aviation in North America.
On this Page
Aerial Experiment Association (AEA)
The Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) was a small group of men that was formed in 1907 for the purpose of designing and building a vehicle capable of carrying a man in flight. The group was formed in Canada by American inventor Alexander Graham Bell. The AEA's efforts led to the first successful recorded manned flight in Canada.
Background
The Aerial Experiment Association was formed on October 1, 1907, by Alexander Graham Bell at the vacation home and laboratory he maintained near Baddeck on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Bell, who is best known as the inventor of the telephone, had a long-standing interest in flight. By the time he formed the AEA, he had already been testing flight principles with kites for more than sixteen years and had been working on a vehicle that featured wings made from hundreds of tetrahedral shapes connected together. With his wife, Mabel, providing the initial $20,000 to fund the association, Bell gathered a crew of four young men who also had an interest in what was then called aerial locomotion, or flight.
Bell's Boys, as the four became known, included John McCurdy, an engineering student; Frederick W. "Casey" Baldwin, a balloonist; Thomas Selfridge, a US Army lieutenant and aviation expert; and Glenn H. Curtiss, a motorcycle builder. McCurdy was a family friend of the Bells. Baldwin was a recent graduate of the University of Toronto who moved to Baddeck to work with Bell. Selfridge was a recognized expert in the new field of aviation and a member of the aeronautical division of the US Army Signal Corp. Bell convinced President Theodore Roosevelt to assign Selfridge to the AEA. Curtiss had been successfully manufacturing motorcycle engines for a few years, including some that were offered to the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, who made the first successful manned airplane flight in 1903. Curtiss also produced the motorcycle engine that Baldwin used to power a dirigible, or blimp, in a successful flight in 1904.
According to its official charter, which was notarized on September 30, 1907, the association was initially to be formed for one year with a provision for extending its existence beyond that time if the group agreed. Its purpose was to build what the charter called "a practical aerodrome." All inventions created by the AEA were to be the property of the association, and all related costs were also the responsibility of the association. Bell made his laboratory and equipment available for the group's use.
Overview
The first project attempted by the AEA was to complete a tetrahedral wing plane design Bell was already working on when he established the association. Dubbed Cygnet, the craft was a kite measuring 52 feet in width and 10 feet in height. It took 3,339 tetrahedral-shaped cells to make up the kite. In the middle of the cells was an opening big enough for a man, a motor, and a propeller intended to make the kite a powered flight device. It also had pontoons for water takeoffs and landings. It was partially covered in red silk to improve visibility in the sky for photos.
On December 3, 1907, the AEA conducted a test flight, towing the unmanned Cygnet behind a steamer in Baddeck Bay to see if it was flight worthy. When this test was a success, the group attempted an unpowered glider flight with Selfridge aboard. Once again, the craft was towed behind a steamer, and it reached a height of between 150 and 200 feet. The plan was for Selfridge to disconnect the tow cable as the kite descended and glide to land on the water. However, the area holding him on the craft was like a tunnel, and he was unable to see how close he was to the water. The Cygnet crashed and was destroyed, but Selfridge escaped injury.
The AEA then moved its operations to Curtiss's factory in Hammondsport, New York. The group researched what was known about flight and consulted with the Wright brothers. Selfridge enhanced the tail area of the Wright brothers' design in crafting the vehicle, which was once again covered in red silk for visibility. Baldwin was the pilot for the first flight in Red Wing when it was towed over ice-covered Keuka Lake on March 12, 1908. His flight lasted 319 feet before the tail broke and the glider crashed. However, it was considered a successful flight, and Baldwin would claim to be the first Canadian and British citizen to fly an aircraft. Another flight on March 17 was affected by rain, and the plane crashed after a flight of 120 feet.
The AEA's next effort was White Wing; the group had run out of red silk and switched to white. Baldwin designed the plane, which had wheels instead of pontoons. It also featured ailerons, or hinged wing flaps, to help prevent the plane from rolling. This craft managed more than 150 flights with all four of Bell's Boys taking turns as pilot. Its best flight was with Curtiss in control when the plane managed 1,017 feet.
The group would create another design, known as June Bug, which managed a number of flights, including one of more than 3,420 feet. However, the plane for which the AEA is best known is the Silver Dart. Named after the silver fabric that covered its steel, wood, and bamboo frame, the plane also included a 50-horsepower engine built by Curtiss and a solid wood propeller. Although it was built in Curtiss's New York factory, Silver Dart was transported to Baddeck Bay for its first flight on February 23, 1909. McCurdy piloted the flight, which was the first manned flight in Canada.
This was one of the last big successes for the AEA. Selfridge had died of injuries suffered when he fell from a US Army test plane flown by Orville Wright on September 17, 1908. Members of the AEA would end up in a long legal battle over patents with the Wright brothers. On March 31, 1909, the group officially disbanded with all rights to its work given to Curtiss.
Bibliography
"About the Man – Glenn H. Curtiss." Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org/about-the-man-glenn-h-curtiss.php. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
"Aerial Experiment Association Charter." Mississippi State University, invention.psychology.msstate.edu/i/AEA/AEA‗charter.html. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
"Bell's Boys." Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company, www.wright-brothers.org/History‗Wing/Wright‗Story/Showing‗the‗World/Bells‗Boys/Bells‗Boys.htm. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Haddon, Gerald. "McCurdy: Honoring a Modest Man." Vintage Wings of Canada, 29 July 2024, www.vintagewings.ca/stories/an-honest-man. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Hilmer, Norman. "Silver Dart." Canadian Encyclopedia, 22 May 2024, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/silver-dart. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Patterson, Michael Robert. "Thomas Etholen Selfridge." Arlington National Cemetery, 3 Mar. 2024, www.arlingtoncemetery.net/thomaset.htm. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Scott, Alec. "The Aviator." University of Toronto Magazine, Winter 2011, magazine.utoronto.ca/feature/douglas-mccurdy-canadian-aviation-history-silver-dart/. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.